L'amour dure trois ans

The movie starts off with a frenetic pace, but does slow down quite a bit after that opening "montage" (some others are to follow later on). Of course some people might have trouble with a romantic movie trying to make fun of romance in some ways. Title being one of the best indicators of that.

But the leads in this are really good. Of course this being a french movie you should be aware that there will be nudity (in stark contrast to an inevitable? American remake)! If that doesn't bother you, you will get a light movie, that will entertain you. It might have its slow moments here and there and you might not agree entirely how it resolves at the end, but it is more than solid in my book

We picked this movie more or less at random not having heard of it. Glad we did. As with many European movies, this is entertainment directed at adults, not 12 year-olds. So yes, there is nudity and sexual references, but it is in good taste and not at all ''bathroom'' humour.

The cast is simply wonderful. Terrific acting from everyone. And a host of little out-of-the-blue surprises here and there, such as the seamless integration of written text in the visual, and the insertion of scholarly statements by philosophers about love. Nothing at all gimmicky about it. They all work very well to advance the story.

One negative note: this is a French film, with French characters and the action is happening in France.. but the music is mostly all in English! Even Michel Legrand, for God sake, sings the English-language versions of his songs. Heavy accent and all! It seems so contrived.(Keep in mind that I am referring to the original French version of this film, not an English-language adaptation)

This off my chest, let me return to my first comments and reiterate my enthusiasm for this very entertaining movie.

Never been married. But have shacked up with women before. In fact was once formally engaged but never consummated the deal. Each meaningful relationship over the past 50 years -- and I've had a few -- lasted exactly three years. Some lasted weeks or months but they weren't meaningful. This flick's in French and I've never seen it. But would like to. Maybe it has subtitles. Or one day perhaps some tired hollywood type will try an easy score with an English version. Just drawn to the title, which has been my experience as well.

I am surprised that the score of this movie is so relatively low. Whilst it's nothing special, it's also really funny, shrewd and almost never facile: a little comedy about love and life with several laugh-out moments (the sequence of the fake "documentary" towards the end, with the famous philosophers saying trivialities with utter conviction, is worth the price of the dvd alone). Lightweight but not pedestrian. Recommended.